Ten calypsonians from the Dynamite Calypso Tent in Brooklyn, the sole Vincentian calypso tent in North America, competed Saturday night, June 7, before five judges in their bid to advance to the semifinal round of the National Calypso Competition in Vincy Mas 2025.
The preliminary judging took place at a new venue, the auditorium of Nazareth Regional High School in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
The calypsonians, half of whom are veterans in the artform, had either qualified for the semifinals in previous years or made it to the grand finale at Carnival City, Victoria Park, in the capital city of Kingstown.
Perennial competitors – D Man Age, a former Calypso Monarch; Denis Bowman; Ramon “Jose Juan” Diaz; Hamlet; and Oscar James – sought to impress the judges.
Newcomer Nubian Empress, the only female contender, seemingly impressed the crowd the most and received rave reviews.
The other competitors were Persona, Gregory, Lenny C, and Boney Man.
Carlos “Rejector” Providence, president of the Dynamite Calypso Tent, and Calypsonian Delahanty Isles opted not to compete this year.
Providence told Caribbean Life that he was nursing a voice strain, while Isles said she was taking a break from competition since the death of her mom.
Hamlet urged calypso lovers to join his “Calypso Mission,” imploring local radio to “play our calypsos.
“Creators must be at the forefront,” he sang, adding that “calypsonians on retirement” must also be involved.
“You have left us with your recordings,” Hamlet continued. “We will enter calypso vanity to where it should be (applause).”
In an apparent dig at the powers-that-be, D Man Age urged the “comrade,” patently referring to Prime Minister Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves, to “step aside and move on,” claiming, in the partial title of his social commentary, that the Vincentian leader has “Gone Through.”
“You want to take people for a ride,” the erstwhile calypso monarch sang. “It seems like you want to die in office/enough is enough/take you exit.”
In “Stand on Your Own,” Jose Juan sang: “The continent is full of wealth/Put your trust in God/Put your trust in no man/You buss yo eye/You have to stand up and cry (applause).”
In up-tempo fashion, close to the soca beat, Lenny C, one of the newcomers to the Dynamite Calypso Tent, urged calypso aficionados to “Butt Till E Bun.”
Impeccably dressed and with dance moves reminiscent of Michael Jackson, the late King of Pop, Persona told the audience they were “Born to be Great.”
“They don’t want to see us unite,” he sang. “But we were born to be great.”
Afterward, Vincentian Hailes Castello, who shared Master of Ceremonies duties with Grenada’s New York Independence Calypso Monarch Hercules, remarked: “I think he’s (Persona) on the wrong show. He should be on America’s Idol.”
In her first appearance in the Dynamite Calypso Tent’s preliminary judging, the soft-singing Nubian Empress, with good melody and lyrics, took a “View from the Outside.”
“Vincy, we really know how to put on a show,“ she sang, generating the loudest applause and standing ovation from the effervescent crowd.
Hercules said, “When you hear calypso like that, you suppose to stand up.”
Others, who were initially hesitant, quickly obliged.
With great stage moves and a jumpy beat, Gregory asked: “Wey the Christians Day?“
“Every morning, I see plenty backstabbing/I see plenty cruelty/Keep on praying/I see people trying to dis me,“ he sang.
After Dennis Bowman promised “Plenty More to Come” with good lyrics, Hercules lauded him and urged patrons to “put your hands together for one of the finest in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
“Dennis Bowman always comes good,“ he said.
Boney Man appealed to nationals to “Fix We Own House,“ lamenting that, years ago, “the farmers worked the land.”
Oscar James, one of the founders of the defunct Vincentian band Affetuousos, recalled Hurricane Beryl’s ravage of the St. Vincent Grenadine islands.
“Beryl mashed up the Grenadines,“ he sang, with the title “Beryl.” “We shall build back the Grenadines.”
In his opening remarks, Rejector told calypso fans that the Dynamite Calypso Tent was “indeed happy to have you here joining with us celebrating the upkeep of our rich cultural heritage.
“From the inception of the Dynamite Calypso Tent to date, we have been an integral part of Vincy Mas,“ he said. “We have also been at the forefront of community outreach, giving back through hurricane and volcano relief and donated trophies for the junior calypso and soca monarch competitions in 2023, among other things.
“We could not have done such without the staunch support of you and our sponsors through the years, and we pledge to continue this for a long time,“ Rejector added. “You certainly deserve a round of applause.”
